Electricity Supply

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what minimum (a) additional utilities infrastructure, (b) additional works to existing electricity supply infrastructure and (c) change in per capita consumption of electricity he expects to be required in order to enable an adequate electricity supply to be maintained when the Government have achieved its target for additional new dwellings in Mid Sussex by 2016; and what steps the Government are taking to ensure an adequate electricity supply.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 6 March 2006
	This is a matter for the companies concerned, in discussion with their energy providers. However the Government recognises the importance of infrastructure as an essential element in developing sustainable communities, whether delivered by the private or public sector, and is developing several initiatives to facilitate infrastructure delivery and funding. For example consultation on a Planning Gain Supplement and a cross cutting government review of infrastructure were both announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor in December 2005.

Terrorism

Judy Mallaber: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what further resources to protect the public against terrorism he plans to allocate.

Charles Clarke: I announced, via a written ministerial statement to the House on 25 January 2006, Official Report, column 57WS, additional counter-terrorism funding for the police service. Additional police specific counter-terrorism funding is set out in the table.
	
		
			   £ million 
			  2006–07 2007–08 
		
		
			 Resource   
			 Metropolitan Police 30 45 
			 Local and Regional Policing outside of London 33 65 
			 Total 63 110 
			
			 Capital   
			 Police Service 30 35

British Transport Police

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the terms of reference are of the review of the British Transport Police in relation to safety on trains and at stations.

Derek Twigg: Following my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Transport's written statement on 11 October 2005, Official Report, columns 27–28WS, copies of the terms of reference for the review of the British Transport Police were placed in the Libraries of the House on 19 October 2005.

Evesham Station

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what involvement his Department has had in the provision of disabled access to the up platform at Evesham station; what assessment he has made of the reasons for the delay to the project; and if he will provide financial assistance to meet cost increases attributed to decisions and requirements of his Department.

Karen Buck: All access improvements at stations are required to meet the requirements of the Train and Station Services for Disabled Passenger Code of Practice. Where an operator considers that they are unable to do so they can seek a dispensation from the Department.
	First Great Western Link (FOWL) sought a dispensation for the ramp to the up platform because it failed to provide adequate resting places and each section of the ramp would be twice the required length. The dispensation was refused on 20 December 2005 on the grounds that the ramp would be unsuitable for many of the disabled passengers for which it was intended.
	We understand that an alternative design for the ramp is being considered. The Department has indicated to FGWL that we will consider an application to use its Small Works Budget to make up the shortfall in funding. We understand that FGWL are awaiting a decision from Worcestershire County Council about co-funding of the scheme.

Insecticides

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether it is mandatory for airlines to spray insecticide in the interior of aircraft cabins on flights arriving in the UK; what rules govern this practice; what insecticides are permitted for use; and if he will make a statement.

Karen Buck: The use of insecticide is required under the International Health Regulations of the World Health Organisation (WHO) on flights to or from certain destinations to prevent infectious and contagious diseases. This process is known as disinsection.
	Rules established by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) require that disinsection does not injure or cause discomfort to passengers or crew. These rules permit the use of certain insecticides, which have the approval of and are recommended by the WHO, based on their efficacy and minimal human toxicity. The rules are binding on ICAO contracting states.
	Within Great Britain, the Public Health (Aircraft) Regulations 1979 lay down provisions intended to prevent infectious and contagious diseases. These provisions are enforced at airports by the local port health authority.
	All pesticides used for aircraft disinfection in Great Britain must be approved by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) under the Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986.
	ICAO is presently looking into alternative methods of keeping mosquitoes and other insects out of the aircraft cabin. These methods include wind curtains at entrances and mechanical devices. If there is evidence to suggest alternative methods are more effective that the current methods, ICAO will consider a review of the disinsection process.

Road Improvements

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the timetable is for the additional £600 million announced on 15 February 2006 to be made available to help local authorities modernise and update their local roads.

Karen Buck: The deadline for the return of expressions of interest (Eols) in pathfinder schemes for highway maintenance schemes procured through the private finance initiative is 10 September 2006. We will then consider which local authorities should be invited to prepare an outline business case (OBC). It is anticipated that the time required to prepare an OBC for these schemes, which are likely to be complex, will be approximately a year. Each local authority is required to propose their own timetable for procurement with both their Eol and OBC. These will be considered as part of the assessment process.

Travel to School

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of (a) primary and (b) secondary school children get to school by (i) walking, (ii) cycling, (iii) travelling by bus, (iv) travelling by car and (v) another method.

Karen Buck: Data from the National Travel Survey on the percentage of trips in 2004 made by children travelling to and from school by mode and age are given in the following table.
	
		Trips to and from school by main mode, 2004, Great Britain Percentage
		
			 Mode Age five to 10 Age 11 to 16 
		
		
			 Walk 50 44 
			 Cycle 1 3 
			 Local/private bus 7 29 
			 Car/van 41 22 
			 Other method 1 3

Post Office Card Accounts

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have used the Post Office card account (POCA) in each year since it was introduced; how much the Post Office receives for each POCA payment it makes; and what other administrative costs the Government pay in respect of each POCA transaction.

James Plaskitt: The information is not available in the format requested.
	The Post Office card account service was introduced in April 2003.
	The following table shows the number of Post Office card accounts in use since it was introduced.
	
		
			  Date Number of Post Office card accounts in use 
		
		
			 March 2004 834,773 
			 March 2005 4,183,666 
			 December 2005 4,270,412 
		
	
	In addition to accounts used by my Department these figures include Post Office card accounts used by the Northern Ireland Social Security agency, the Veterans Agency (Ministry of Defence) and Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs.
	The annual cost to the Department of the Post Office card account for the first three years from April 2003 averaged £173 million.
	Currently the average cost to my Department of making a payment into a Post Office card account is approximately £1.00.

Unemployment

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) people aged 25 to 49 years, (b) women aged 50 to 59 years and (c) men aged 50 to 64 years have been unemployed for more than 18 months in each month in each year since 1992.

John Healey: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 10 March 2006
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about duration of unemployment. I am replying in her absence. (56968)
	Information relating to unemployment for 18 months and over is not readily available. However, I am placing in the House of Commons Library a table giving estimates of the number of people resident in the United Kingdom who were unemployed for 2 years or more. It covers people aged 25 to 49 years; women aged 50 to 59 years; and men aged 50 to 64 years, in each month from 1992 to 2005.
	These seasonally adjusted estimates from Labour Force Survey (LFS) are, as with any sample survey, subject to a margin of uncertainty.
	
		Unemployed for two years or more by age:United Kingdom, seasonally adjusted Thousands
		
			  Duration of unemployment for two years or more 
			 Three months ending Unemployed aged 25 to working age(3) Unemployed aged 25–49 Unemployed Women aged 50–59 Unemployed Men aged 50–64 
		
		
			 1992 May 376 258 22 97 
			 1992 June 388 263 21 105 
			 1992 July 410 275 21 114 
			 1992 August 417 280 22 114 
			 1992 September 421 284 23 114 
			 1992 October 438 299 23 116 
			 1992 November 460 318 26 116 
			 1992 December 479 330 28 121 
			 1993 January 491 342 30 119 
			 1993 February 497 350 30 117 
			 1993 March 505 354 28 123 
			 1993 April 507 358 30 119 
			 1993 May 510 357 31 121 
			 1993 June 517 367 33 118 
			 1993 July 527 371 35 122 
			 1993 August 531 372 35 123 
			 1993 September 543 383 34 126 
			 1993 October 549 386 35 127 
			 1993 November 558 393 34 130 
			 1993 December 572 405 33 134 
			 1994 January 586 412 37 137 
			 1994 February 582 409 37 137 
			 1994 March 584 408 38 138 
			 1994 April 589 412 36 141 
			 1994 May 594 415 36 143 
			 1994 June 596 417 34 144 
			 1994 July 589 419 32 138 
			 1994 August 597 429 33 136 
			 1994 September 586 417 35 134 
			 1994 October 579 414 34 131 
			 1994 November 580 413 34 134 
			 1994 December 561 402 33 126 
			 1995 January 558 399 33 126 
			 1995 February 564 404 32 128 
			 1995 March 577 413 33 131 
			 1995 April 569 410 33 126 
			 1995 May 557 405 30 122 
			 1995 June 550 401 30 118 
			 1995 July 545 396 27 122 
			 1995 August 544 389 30 126 
			 1995 September 559 397 32 130 
			 1995 October 553 393 32 129 
			 1995 November 530 377 29 124 
			 1995 December 505 357 25 123 
			 1996 January 512 364 25 122 
			 1996 February 511 364 25 122 
			 1996 March 496 355 25 116 
			 1996 April 496 354 24 118 
			 1996 May 489 348 25 116 
			 1996 June 497 353 27 117 
			 1996 July 486 338 29 119 
			 1996 August 482 333 32 118 
			 1996 September 476 328 29 119 
			 1996 October 474 330 28 116 
			 1996 November 466 323 28 115 
			 1996 December 471 325 29 117 
			 1997 January 462 322 28 112 
			 1997 February 447 310 27 111 
			 1997 March 424 293 25 106 
			 1997 April 420 289 27 105 
			 1997 May 418 286 27 105 
			 1997 June 411 284 25 102 
			 1997 July 402 278 23 101 
			 1997 August 373 258 22 92 
			 1997 September 353 242 21 90 
			 1997 October 343 231 21 91 
			 1997 November 343 232 20 92 
			 1997 December 326 222 21 83 
			 1998 January 317 217 20 80 
			 1998 February 305 211 21 72 
			 1998 March 309 208 20 81 
			 1998 April 306 203 20 82 
			 1998 May 311 205 22 84 
			 1998 June 304 202 22 79 
			 1998 July 298 201 21 77 
			 1998 August 291 195 18 78 
			 1998 September 286 196 15 74 
			 1998 October 284 194 15 74 
			 1998 November 283 189 20 74 
			 1998 December 283 188 21 74 
			 1999 January 283 185 21 77 
			 1999 February 280 181 22 76 
			 1999 March 276 180 21 75 
			 1999 April 274 177 20 76 
			 1999 May 264 170 19 76 
			 1999 June 259 165 18 75 
			 1999 July 257 168 18 71 
			 1999 August 260 170 20 70 
			 1999 September 256 170 17 69 
			 1999 October 251 171 18 63 
			 1999 November 249 169 17 64 
			 1999 December 244 165 15 65 
			 2000 January 249 167 15 67 
			 2000 February 243 171 13 59 
			 2000 March 233 157 15 61 
			 2000 April 222 150 13 58 
			 2000 May 213 141 14 58 
			 2000 June 218 145 15 57 
			 2000 July .209 139 13 57 
			 2000 August 203 134 12 57 
			 2000 September 202 133 12 57 
			 2000 October 201 133 12 56 
			 2000 November 201 132 13 56 
			 2000 December 197 131 12 54 
			 2001 January 195 130 11 54 
			 2001 February 197 137 11 50 
			 2001 March 191 133 10 47 
			 2001 April 191 136 10 45 
			 2001 May 189 136 9 44 
			 2001 June 189 137 9 44 
			 2001 July 185 134 9 43 
			 2001 August 185 130 10 44 
			 2001 September 184 127 11 45 
			 2001 October 179 123 10 47 
			 2001 November 169 119 8 42 
			 2001 December 166 117 9 41 
			 2002 January 166 116 9 41 
			 2002 February 165 113 11 41 
			 2002 March 157 107 10 41 
			 2002 April 160 107 12 41 
			 2002 May 160 108 12 41 
			 2002 June 158 105 11 41 
			 2002 July 158 106 12 41 
			 2002 August 157 101 11 45 
			 2002 September 151 97 11 43 
			 2002 October 149 97 10 42 
			 2002 November 144 93 11 40 
			 2002 December 139 87 12 39 
			 2003 January 130 80 11 39 
			 2003 February 132 81 8 42 
			 2003 March 137 88 8 41 
			 2003 April 134 87 8 39 
			 2003 May 130 85 8 37 
			 2003 June 122 79 7 36 
			 2003 July 129 83 9 37 
			 2003 August 132 88 10 34 
			 2003 September 133 90 10 33 
			 2003 October 130 87 8 35 
			 2003 November 130 85 8 38 
			 2003 December 132 86 7 39 
			 2004 January 127 85 7 35 
			 2004 February 122 81 8 33 
			 2004 March 115 74 8 33 
			 2004 April 119 76 10 33 
			 2004 May 113 72 9 33 
			 2004 June 112 73 8 31 
			 2004 July 106 68 6 31 
			 2004 August 103 66 7 31 
			 2004 September 102 64 8 30 
			 2004 October 104 65 9 30 
			 2004 November 111 72 10 30 
			 2004 December 111 71 10 31 
			 2005 January 111 70 11 29 
			 2005 February 115 74 11 30 
			 2005 March 110 68 11 31 
			 2005 April 106 65 10 31 
			 2005 May 108 67 10 32 
			 2005 June 111 66 11 34 
			 2005 July 111 66 11 34 
			 2005 August 108 61 11 36 
			 2005 September 103 59 9 35 
			 2005 October 111 64 10 38 
			 2005 November 119 69 10 41 
			 2005 December 122 71 11 40 
		
	
	(3) Men aged up to 64 and women aged up to 59.
	Source:
	ONS Labour Force Survey

Call Centres

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many call centres were run by his Department and its agencies in (a) 2003–04, (b) 2004–05 and (c) 2005–06 to date; and how many and what proportion of calls (i) were handled by an adviser, (ii) were received but abandoned and (iii) received an engaged tone in each year;
	(2)  when he expects to answer question reference 23294 tabled by the hon. Member for Yeovil.

Dawn Primarolo: I very much regret that I have not been able to let the hon. Gentleman have an earlier reply.
	The number of contact centres operated by HM Revenue and Customs and the two predecessor departments (Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise) in each relevant year are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  HM Customs and Excise Inland Revenue HM Revenue and Customs 
		
		
			 2003–04 (as at 5 April 2004) 6 21 None 
			 2004–05 (as at 5 April 2005) 6 22 None 
			 2005–06 (as at 1 March 2006) None None 28 
		
	
	Within the limitations of underlying data systems, HM Revenue and Customs best available estimates of call volumes for each relevant year are shown in the following table:
	
		All figures in millions rounded to nearest 100 thousand
		
			  2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 (to 31 January 2006) 
		
		
			 Calls handled(4) 35.3 48.7 42 
			 Calls received but abandoned(5) 6.1 2.7 3.3 
			 Calls encountering an engaged tone(6) 25.4 31 63 
		
	
	(4) Where the caller spoke to an adviser.
	(5) Where the caller selected an option from the call steering menu and was put in a queue to speak to an adviser but the call was terminated before the caller spoke to an adviser.
	(6) Call attempts where the caller was played an engaged tone.

Correspondence

David Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Financial Secretary will reply to the letter of 23 December 2005 from the hon. Member for North-West Leicestershire on the classification and use of reprocessed fuel oils.

John Healey: I have replied to the Hon. Member.

Iraq

John MacDougall: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his latest estimate is of the cost to public funds of the Iraq war.

Des Browne: The net additional costs of operations in Iraq to 31 March 2005, as recorded in the Ministry of Defence's Annual Reports and Accounts, total £3,068 million as follows:
	
		
			  £ million 
			 Financial year Amount 
		
		
			 2002–03 847 
			 2003–04 1,311 
			 2004–05 910 
		
	
	Estimated annual costs for operations in Iraq of £1,098 million in 2005–06 were included in the MoD's Spring Supplementary Estimate. Final figures will be published by the MoD in their Annual Report and Accounts for 2005–06 following audit by the NAO.

Choose and Book System

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what definition she uses of the term indirectly bookable service; how it differs from an integrated patient administration systems solution; and how many referrals were made through the Choose and Book system in (a) December 2005 and (b) January 2006 through (i) integrated patient administration systems and (ii) the indirectly bookable service.

Liam Byrne: A directly bookable service is one where the patient, or someone on behalf of the patient, can view and then book an appointment while in their general practitioner's (GPs) surgery, or later either on the internet or on the telephone through the choose and book appointments line. In order for services to be directly bookable, service providers, for example acute trusts, must have a patient administration system (PAS) which is compliant with the choose and book application. This means that the PAS is able to publish available slots to choose and book for the referrer, for example a GP, and patient to review.
	Where a provider has not yet made their PAS compliant, the trust can use choose and book indirectly bookable services. This allows referrers and patients to identify and view the services commissioned by their primary care trust. However, because the PAS is not compliant, available dates and times cannot be shown. In these instances the appointment is booked by the patient telephoning their chosen provider from a clinically appropriate shortlist.
	The number of referrals made through the choose and book system in December 2005 and January 2006 through integrated patient administration systems and the indirectly bookable service, are shown in the table.
	
		
			  December 2005 January 2006 
		
		
			 Directly bookable 4,732 8,094 
			 Indirectly bookable 15,212 24,200 
			 Total bookings 19,944 32,294

Choose and Book System

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what her Department's estimate is of the costs to date of the Choose and Book computer system; what range of estimates she has received on the total final costs of its implementation; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The cost to date of the choose and book computer system, as at the end of February 2006, was at £25.7 million for core system development and related services charges under a contract with Atos Origin worth £64.5 million over five years.
	A further £19.4 million has to date been paid for the additional services and functionality that the original choose and book business case were likely to be required as the system is rolled out in the national health service. The cost of these is expected to total some £79.5 million over the same period.

Community Hospitals

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many minor injuries units there have been in community hospitals in England in each of the last 10 years; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: Data is not collected centrally in the format requested.

Dentistry

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the availability of NHS dentists in Hampshire.

Rosie Winterton: £492,000 (revenue) was allocated to Hampshire and Isle of Wight for dental access for 2005–06. It is the responsibility of local Health service organisations to determine how best to use their resources to meet the needs of their local community.
	Dental action plans have been developed for those areas in Hampshire and Isle of Wight that been deemed most challenged, and contingent additional funding (circa £3 million) has been allocated to maintain or procure additional capacity.
	Hampshire and the Isle of Wight achieved a total of 20.04 new dentists by the end of September 2005, thereby exceeding its target by nine whole time equivalent general dental practitioners, equating to 18,000 patient registrations.
	All Hampshire and Isle of Wight Primary Care Trusts have arrangements in place to ensure that people in urgent need of dental treatment can be offered an appointment, usually the same day.

Dentistry

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS dentists there were in each (a) local authority area and (b) primary care trust in Hampshire in (i) 1997, (ii) 2001 and (iii) 2005.

Rosie Winterton: The tables show the numbers of general dental services (CDS) and personal dental services (PDS) dentists in the specified primary care trusts or local authority areas as at 30 September in each of the requested years.
	
		
			 Primary care trust 1997 2001 2005 
		
		
			 Blackwater Valley and Hart 58 77 98 
			 East Hampshire 56 74 68 
			 Eastleigh and Test Valley — — — 
			 South 57 70 88 
			 Fareham and Gosport 61 73 88 
			 Isle of Wight 40 43 56 
			 Mid-Hampshire 60 76 85 
			 New Forest 69 75 88 
			 North Hampshire 74 83 96 
			 Portsmouth City Teaching 61 74 83 
			 Southampton City 72 88 101 
		
	
	
		
			 Local authority 1997 2001 2005 
		
		
			 Basingstoke and Deane 50 51 59 
			 East Hampshire 42 53 59 
			 Eastleigh 41 50 67 
			 Fareham 39 50 61 
			 Gosport 22 24 27 
			 Hart 26 41 56 
			 Havant 40 55 48 
			 Isle of Wight 40 43 56 
			 New Forest 69 75 88 
			 Portsmouth 61 74 83 
			 Rushmoor 32 36 42 
			 Southampton 72 88 101 
			 Test Valley 34 47 49 
			 Winchester 41 52 59 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Data includes all notifications of dentists joining or leaving the GDS or PDS, received by the Dental Practice Board, up to 19 October 2005. Figures for the numbers of dentists at specified dates may vary depending upon the notification period, for example, data with a later notification period will include more recent notifications of dentists joining or leaving the GDS or PDS.
	2. The postcode of the dental practice was used to allocate dentists to specific geographic areas. Primary care trust (PCT) and local authority (LA) areas have been defined using the Office for National Statistics all fields postcode directory.
	3. An individual dentist may have a contract with more than one PCT or LA area, in which case they will appear in figures for each PCT and LA area with which they hold a contract.
	Source:
	Dental Practice Board

NHS Direct

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the budget was for NHS Direct in each year since its inception; and what the projected budgets are for the next three years.

Liam Byrne: The total costs of the service since 1998–99 are shown in the table.
	
		
			£ million 
			  Revenue Capital Total cost 
		
		
			 1998–99 14 — — 
			 1999–2000 55 — — 
			 2000–01 90.1 — — 
			 2001–02 89.7 20 109.7 
			 2002–03 106 18 124 
			 2003–04 117.5 7.5 124 
			 2004–05 121 10 131 
			 2005–06(8) 163 10 173 
		
	
	(8) Final outturn position not yet known but expected not to exceed the allocated amount.
	Budgets for the next three years have not yet been agreed.

NHS Pay

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total expenditure on pay of (a) nurses, (b) doctors and (c) staff in the NHS has been in each financial year since 1997–98 in (i) real and (ii) cash terms.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is shown in the tables.
	
		Salaries and wages—England 1997–1988 to 2003–04Cash Terms £000
		
			  1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 Total 16,098,947 17,081,105 18,708,226 20,531,877 23,211,678 25,911,832 28,560,118 
			 Medics 2,848,029 3,121,513 3,464,313 3,896,4924, 473,252 5,038,098 6,022,780 
			 Nurses 6,415,043 6,709,865 7,330,272 7,902,411 8,825,373 9,642,764 10,371,446 
			 Others 6,835,874 7,249,727 7,913,642 8,732,974 9,913,053 11,230,970 12,165,891 
			 Salaries and Wages 16,098,947 17,081,105 18,708,226 20,531,877 23,211,678 25,911,832 28,560,118 
		
	
	
		Real terms 2003–04 prices £000
		
			  1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 GDP 85.131 87.339 89.058 90.224 92.453 95.39 97.912 
			 Total 18,515,935 19,148,893 20,568,167 22,281,401 24,582,240 26,596,910 28,560,118 
			 Medics 3,275,613 3,499,394 3,808,729 4,228,513 4,737,380 5,171,299 6,022,780 
			 Nurses 7,378,155 7,522,142 8,059,035 8,575,776 9,346,478 9,897,707 10,371,446 
			 Others 7,862,167 8,127,358 8,700,403 9,477,112 10,498,381 11,527,904 2,165,891 
			 Salaries and Wages 18,515,935 19,148,893 20,568,167 22,281,401 24,582,240 26,596,910 28,560,118 
		
	
	Source:
	Annual financial returns of health authorities and national health service trusts, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–2000.
	Annual financial returns of health authorities and primary care trusts 2000–01, 2001–02,2002–03, 2003–04.
	Gross domestic product—Dated 23 December 2005

Local Government Pension Scheme

Paul Murphy: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with (a) local government employers and (b) the relevant trades union on a resolution to the dispute about proposed changes to the Local Government Pension Scheme;
	(2)  if he will make a statement on the dispute between local government employers and workers in the Local Government Pension Scheme.

Phil Woolas: My right hon. Friend the Member for Torfaen (Mr. Murphy), the Deputy Prime Minister, in his role as Scheme regulator and within the framework provided by the Local Government Pension Scheme Tripartite Committee, has overseen a series of constructive discussions between the employers and trade unions in order to achieve an affordable, legal, viable and equitable outcome. It has always been made clear that any proposals which meet these criteria will be carefully considered. The outcome of these discussions, together with the responses to the recently concluded consultation exercise, will be carefully considered before final decisions are taken on the content of the regulations to implement changes to the Scheme from April.

Government Communications

Oliver Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 6 February 2006, Official Report, column 849W, on Government communications, how much of the press office staff costs for each year since 1997–98 were accounted for by (a) salaries, (b) office costs, (c) provision of mobile telephones, (d) provision of laptop computers, (e) provision of other equipment and (f) other costs.

Jim Murphy: In the response of 6 February 2006, Official Report, column 849W, for each year the only costs accounted for, was expenditure on total pay costs. The total pay costs 1997–98 to 2004–05 and office costs 2002–03 to 2005–06 are shown in the table.
	The office costs for press office are not separately available before 2002–03. Before that date office costs referred to the overall communication function.
	The office costs provided include training costs, the provision of information technology and office equipment. Due to the way financial expenditure is captured I am unable to provide this information in the manner requested.
	
		
			   £000 
			  Press office—office costs Total pay costs 
		
		
			 1997–98 — 454 
			 1998–99 — 512 
			 1999–2000 — 753 
			 2000–01 — 782 
			 2001–02 — 798 
			 2002–03 514 398 
			 2003–04 255 416 
			 2004–05 412 439 
			 2005–06(10) 320 337 
		
	
	(10) Spend to end of January 2006